Synonyms for swing

Synonym study

10. Swing,sway,oscillate,rock suggest a movement back and forth. Swing expresses the comparatively regular motion to and fro of a body supported from the end or ends, especially from above: A lamp swings from the ceiling.To sway is to swing gently and is used especially of fixed objects or of persons: Young oaks sway in the breeze.Oscillate refers to the smooth, regular, alternating movement of a body within certain limits between two fixed points. Rock indicates the slow and regular movement back and forth of a body, as on curved supports: A cradle rocks.

swing

2

[swing]

noun

Also called Big Band music,swing music. a style of jazz, popular especially in the 1930s and often arranged for a large dance band, marked by a smoother beat and more flowing phrasing than Dixieland and having less complex harmonies and rhythms than modern jazz.

the rhythmic element that excites dancers and listeners to move in time to jazz music.

swing

v.

Old English swingan "to rush, fling oneself," from Proto-Germanic *swenganan (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German swingan, Old Frisian swinga, German schwingen "to swing, swingle, oscillate") denoting "violent circulatory motion." The meaning "move freely back and forth" is first recorded 1540s. Related: Swung; swinging. Swing shift first recorded 1941, typically 4 p.m. to midnight.

swing

n.

late 14c., "a stroke with a weapon," from swing (v.). Sense of "an apparatus that swings" is first recorded 1680s. Meaning "shift of public opinion" is from 1899. The meaning "variety of big dance-band music with a swinging rhythm" is first recorded 1933, though the sense has been traced back to 1888; its heyday was from mid-30s to mid-40s. Phrase in full swing "in total effect or operation" (1560s) probably is from bell-ringing.